Methods for manufacturing, inventorying, and supplying medical components

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods for the manufacturing, inventorying, and supplying of medical components. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes fabricating individual subcomponents of a modular medical device system as finished goods. The finished subcomponents may then be sterilized, stocked, and inventoried and, upon request from a consumer, the individual subcomponents may be supplied to the consumer. For example, the consumer may be a hospital, a surgeon, or a sales representative. Once the individual subcomponents are received by the consumer, the individual subcomponents may then be assembled by the consumer to form a final, implantable medical device.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to methods for the manufacturing, inventorying, and supplying of medical components.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]Medical components are commonly utilized to repair and / or replace damaged bone and / or tissue in the human body. For example, a knee prosthesis may be implanted to replace damaged or destroyed bone in the femur and / or tibia and recreate the natural, anatomical articulation of the knee joint. To implant a prosthesis, orthopedic surgery is performed, which, in some cases, may be a minimally invasive surgery.[0005]To facilitate a minimally invasive surgery, a modular medical device may be used. Modular medical devices have several individual, distinct components that are connected together to form a final, implanted medical device. For example, a femoral unicondylar component may be connected to a patellofemoral component to create a femoral prosthesis in a modular knee prosthesis sys...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides methods for manufacturing, inventorying, and supplying medical components in a modular system. The methods involve fabricating individual subcomponents of the system as finished goods, sterilizing and stocking them, and then supplying them to consumers for assembly into a final, implantable medical device. The invention also includes methods for supplying a plurality of subcomponents that can be assembled to form a modular medical device, as well as methods for fabricating the subcomponents into finished goods upon request from a consumer. The technical effects of the invention include improved efficiency in manufacturing and supply of medical components, as well as simplified assembly procedures for consumers.

Problems solved by technology

However, modular medical devices also significantly increase the number of components that must be machined, inventoried, and delivered to a consumer.

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